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Post by theevan on Aug 4, 2023 14:18:55 GMT -5
Mailed a premium check for Workers Comp insurance. It was larger than normal (12961.28) 2 months payment. I start getting calls from my agent saying WC is about to cancel. What? I pull up animate of the check. Now it's made to Katrell Roger's. One of you guys???
So I'm at the bank now. Thing is I took the envelope to anew high security mail box instead of my normal place. Destination was PO box in Dallas. So the check thief is in postal service here in BR.
What a pain!
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Post by majorminor on Aug 4, 2023 14:27:27 GMT -5
That sucks. Seems like we are all spending an hour a day trying to weed through the scams these days and they are getting ever more sophisticated. We need to feed some of these dudes through the wood chipper on Pay Per View. Tangential - I'm paying about 3.2K a month for 16'ish people in a manufacturing biz. Unless you have a ton of peeps that premium seems brutal. Hazardous occupation premium? Oh and.....
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Aug 4, 2023 14:27:28 GMT -5
Wow! Very sorry to hear.
Don’t they accept payment via EFT? I don’t send checks to anyone. I either pay directly on their Web site or I send an electronic check from my bank. Secure, reliable, and fast.
On edit: I don’t even send personal checks to our church and I don’t let them make automatic withdrawals. I do an automated recurring EFT so their office doesn’t have any access to my account.
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Post by david on Aug 4, 2023 14:54:20 GMT -5
I agree with Steve - that sucks, and the woodchipper thing. I had an employee forge my law partner's signature on a bunch of checks and the bank reimbursed us. I hope your bank will repay you.
Thanks for the idea, Dub. I need to look into EFTs.
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Post by majorminor on Aug 4, 2023 14:59:31 GMT -5
This got me thinking. We print and mail all our checks with the address printed on the checks and displayed through a clear window of the envelope. You can tell exactly what is it from 20' away. At the very least thinking maybe we should go to a solid white envelope.
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Post by Marty on Aug 4, 2023 15:17:57 GMT -5
As I've warned you all before, the thieves are GOOD at what they do. Question everything.
DaWife got a text from "Amazon" to confirm a shipping address, sounds innocent enough to me, but, how did they get her phone number and why do they need to confirm a address that is on file? They don't, random number phishing.
So you reply with your correct address and they now have a address to go with that number. Then they tell you the last step is to give them the name on the package so they can ship it to the proper location. A confirmed Name, address, phone number all done by text. With a nice thank you text they might even ask for your email so they can give you a tracking number for your package. The more info you give them the more they will ask for, in order to give you the best service.
DaWife deals with LARGE sums of $$$$ via Wire Transfer but many of the scams start with simple information Phishing. The Lowlife Scammer probably sent 1000s of auto dial texts and out of that he might get a half dozen takers. But yesterday she told me about one that started out like that and ended up netting the scammer $200,000.
Play nice and be careful out there.
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Post by howard lee on Aug 4, 2023 16:09:14 GMT -5
Mailed a premium check for Workers Comp insurance. It was larger than normal (12961.28) 2 months payment. I start getting calls from my agent saying WC is about to cancel. What? I pull up animate of the check. Now it's made to Katrell Roger's. One of you guys??? So I'm at the bank now. Thing is I took the envelope to anew high security mail box instead of my normal place. Destination was PO box in Dallas. So the check thief is in postal service here in BR. What a pain!
Evan, I had the same thing happen a couple of years ago here in New York, with two checks. What the thieves were doing was tying string around a sticky jar, dropping it in the mailboxes, and fishing around for envelopes. The checks of mine they stole were not only washed but altered so they didn't look exactly like my bank's checks. Someone signed my name in really bad handwriting—and if you have ever seen my penmanship, it's no wonder the bank alerted me to possible fraud. Now, the USPS here has altered the mailboxes so there is only a thin slot through which you drop letters. Anything larger has to go to the local PO to be mailed.
I did some research, and have been paying most of my bills via my online banking feature. The rare times these days I have to mail a personal check, I have been filling them out with pens that use gel ink, which I have read is much more difficult to wash because it penetrates the paper stock.
I HATE when stuff like this happens.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,863
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Post by Dub on Aug 4, 2023 16:18:06 GMT -5
Mailed a premium check for Workers Comp insurance. It was larger than normal (12961.28) 2 months payment. I start getting calls from my agent saying WC is about to cancel. What? I pull up animate of the check. Now it's made to Katrell Roger's. One of you guys??? So I'm at the bank now. Thing is I took the envelope to anew high security mail box instead of my normal place. Destination was PO box in Dallas. So the check thief is in postal service here in BR. What a pain! Evan, I had the same thing happen a couple of years ago here in New York, with two checks. What the thieves were doing was tying string around a sticky jar, dropping it in the mailboxes, and fishing around for envelopes. The checks of mine they stole were not only washed but altered so they didn't look exactly like my bank's checks. Someone signed my name in really bad handwriting—and if you have ever seen my penmanship, it's no wonder the bank alerted me to possible fraud. Now, the USPS here has altered the mailboxes so there is only a thin slot through which you drop letters. Anything larger has to go to the local PO to be mailed.
I did some research, and have been paying most of my bills via my online banking feature. The rare times these days I have to mail a personal check, I have been filling them out with pens that use gel ink, which I have read is much more difficult to wash because it penetrates the paper stock. I HATE when stuff like this happens.
Banks may differ in their services, but mine, a local Iowa bank, lets me set up electronic bill-pay for any payee. If the payee doesn't support EFT, say an individual or small business, my bank sends them a check. My bank doesn't charge for this service.
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Post by howard lee on Aug 4, 2023 16:20:29 GMT -5
Evan, I had the same thing happen a couple of years ago here in New York, with two checks. What the thieves were doing was tying string around a sticky jar, dropping it in the mailboxes, and fishing around for envelopes. The checks of mine they stole were not only washed but altered so they didn't look exactly like my bank's checks. Someone signed my name in really bad handwriting—and if you have ever seen my penmanship, it's no wonder the bank alerted me to possible fraud. Now, the USPS here has altered the mailboxes so there is only a thin slot through which you drop letters. Anything larger has to go to the local PO to be mailed.
I did some research, and have been paying most of my bills via my online banking feature. The rare times these days I have to mail a personal check, I have been filling them out with pens that use gel ink, which I have read is much more difficult to wash because it penetrates the paper stock. I HATE when stuff like this happens.
Banks may differ in their services, but mine, a local Iowa bank, lets me set up electronic bill-pay for any payee. If the payee doesn't support EFT, say an individual or small business, my bank sends them a check. My bank doesn't charge for this service.
Certain payees accept EFT and the payment arrives electronically overnight. Certain others (our building co-op management company, for example) don't, and the bank sends an official bank-issued paper check that takes 5 business days.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,863
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Post by Dub on Aug 4, 2023 16:27:39 GMT -5
Certain payees accept EFT and the payment arrives electronically overnight. Certain others (our building co-op management company, for example) don't, and the bank sends an official bank-issued paper check that takes 5 business days. Yeah, mine works that way too. I find, when sending to a not EFT payee, there's usually no hurry.
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Post by theevan on Aug 4, 2023 18:13:13 GMT -5
To answer Steve, 10-12 employees. High rise window cleaning. So yeah, high risk category. And Louisiana.
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Aug 4, 2023 21:12:04 GMT -5
Evan, I had the same thing happen a couple of years ago here in New York, with two checks. What the thieves were doing was tying string around a sticky jar, dropping it in the mailboxes, and fishing around for envelopes. The checks of mine they stole were not only washed but altered so they didn't look exactly like my bank's checks. Someone signed my name in really bad handwriting—and if you have ever seen my penmanship, it's no wonder the bank alerted me to possible fraud. Now, the USPS here has altered the mailboxes so there is only a thin slot through which you drop letters. Anything larger has to go to the local PO to be mailed.
I did some research, and have been paying most of my bills via my online banking feature. The rare times these days I have to mail a personal check, I have been filling them out with pens that use gel ink, which I have read is much more difficult to wash because it penetrates the paper stock. I HATE when stuff like this happens.
Banks may differ in their services, but mine, a local Iowa bank, lets me set up electronic bill-pay for any payee. If the payee doesn't support EFT, say an individual or small business, my bank sends them a check. My bank doesn't charge for this service. My bank (credit union actually) offers the same service. A couple of years ago a couple of our monthly church contributions were stolen out of the church's mailbox out by the street. Somehow they were cashed. I didn't find out until the start of the next year when my giving summary from the church showed I didn't meet my pledge. I looked online and could see that the images for the back of the those bank checks didn't have the usual stamped endorsement from the church. The credit union and the bill pay service went to work and finally a Cheri Reynolds type recovered the money. I never got any details on how the creeps were able to cash the checks or how recovery was made. The church now has a more secure mailbox. Edit. I write one check a year. The yearly HOA dues wants an extra $10 to pay by debit card.
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Post by theevan on Aug 5, 2023 9:11:04 GMT -5
Mea culpa:
I tried afew (or more) years back to pay work comp online but their system was so unbelievably Byzantine I gave up. They fixed it but I never checked.
I'm back at the police station filing the report. I don't see how the evildoers aren't caught...deposited the $12k+ by phone. My institution already knows Bank and account my $ were deposited into. And the police tell me the PO branch where I mailed has a spate of recent identical incidents. I'm feeling somewhat confident they'll catch the responsible postal worker(s) and with some luck and pressure get to the counterfeit ring.
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Post by Marty on Aug 5, 2023 9:27:16 GMT -5
Mea culpa: I tried afew (or more) years back to pay work comp online but their system was so unbelievably Byzantine I gave up. They fixed it but I never checked. I'm back at the police station filing the report. I don't see how the evildoers aren't caught...deposited the $12k+ by phone. My institution already knows Bank and account my $ were deposited into. And the police tell me the PO branch where I mailed has a spate of recent identical incidents. I'm feeling somewhat confident they'll catch the responsible postal worker(s) and with some luck and pressure get to the counterfeit ring. They may not. Usually the account holder is a clueless mule. They got offered a "job" of helping someone transfer money because of some restriction or other. Like I'm on a oil rig in the middle of the ocean and can only get money sent from certain banks and your bank is one of them. So how about my friend sends you the money and then you send it to me, and keep a %. I know this sounds silly but it happens all the time. You send me 10,000. and I just have to send $9,000 to him, easy money. The greedy are the easiest to scam. In the end the greedy/stupid/clueless middle guy ends up getting charged with a bunch of felonies.
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Post by RickW on Aug 5, 2023 10:12:28 GMT -5
Mind boggling. I’d never of thought someone could do this. We do pretty much everything by EFT now, but I don’t have employees or much complicated book keeping.
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Post by Village Idiot on Aug 5, 2023 21:03:53 GMT -5
I was in the grocery store a couple weeks ago speaking with a woman who was telling me she only uses checks, never plastic. She knows too many people who have been in troupble for using plastic, she said, so will never do it herself. I wonder what she'd think from reading this thread.
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